The 5 Most Underrated Records in Sports

What’s the greatest record in sports? Many people would probably answer Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-points in a single game or Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.

Others might say Nolan Ryan’s seven career no-hitters or Jerry Rice's 197 career touchdown receptions. Those are the kind of records that most sports fans know by heart.

The following five records are not that widely known, but they are without a doubt no less impressive.  

5. Dave "Tiger" Williams

Dave "Tiger" Williams spent almost 4,000 minutes in the penalty box during his 14-year NHL career. Williams entered the league in 1974. He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs as the 31st overall pick of the '74 NHL Amateur Draft.

Williams played 962 games in the NHL with five different teams and scored 513 points (241 goals + 272 assists), but no statistic is more impressive than his record-setting 3,966 penalty minutes.

This number stands alone in the league's record books. Second on the list is Dale Hunter who trails Williams by more than 400 minutes. 

4. Morten Andersen

Morten Andersen and Gary Anderson were arguably the two best kickers in NFL history. Both played more than 20 seasons and both made over 500 field goals. 

Gary Anderson has made 538 field goals in his 23-year NFL career, which puts him in the second spot of the all-time field goals made list.

Gary Anderson only trails Morten Andersen in that category. Morten Andersen played for five different teams during his unbelievable 27 seasons in the league. He holds the record with 565 made field goals. 

To put this record in perspective, the most prolific kicker of the last decade Adam Vinatieri stands at 364 made field goals. 

3. Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds holds a couple of the most important baseball records, such as most home runs in a single season (73) and most career home runs (762).

There was a time when he was the most feared hitter in all of baseball, and because of that pitchers often decided not to pitch to him. 688 intentional walks speak for themselves and set a MLB record.

You can think of Bonds whatever you want, but he was one damn good hitter, if not the best. The next closest on the list is Hank Aaron with 293(!). Yes, Hammerin' Hank has almost 400 intentional walks less than Bonds.

2. John Stockton

John Stockton only misses a NBA championship to be considered the best point guard in league history.

The skinny guard from Spokane, Washington rewrote the record books and put the Utah Jazz on the basketball map.

During his 19 NBA seasons in Salt Lake City, Stockton collected 15,806 assists and 3,265 steals. Both are NBA records.

No Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson or Jason Kidd are even close to Stockton's numbers. Kidd, who sits at second place, has 4,228 assists less than the Gonzaga alumni.

When it comes to steals, Stockton leads his closest contender Michael Jordan by 751 steals.

1. Wayne Gretzky

No other athlete has ever dominated a sport like Wayne Gretzky did. 

Gretzky holds every significant offensive record in the NHL, but his most impressive statistical column is the one that says career assists. The Great One dished out 1,963 assists in his career. That's 714 more than second placed Ron Francis. 

The most amazing thing about those 1,963 assists is that it is a higher number than any other player's total career points, which is a combination of both assists and goals.

Wayne Gretzky retired with 2,857 total career points. Mark Messier is a distant second with 1,887 total career points. The fact that one player has more assists than any other player has total points should be evidence enough to conclude the following:

He truly was the Great One.